Congress has recently taken several bills under consideration related to tort reform. If these bills are passed, they could limit, eliminate, or significantly change individual’s access to the justice. On June 28, 2017, the House is to vote on “Protecting Access to Care Act of…
In 2015, new expungement laws came into effect under Minnesota law. Under Minn. Stat § 609A.03, an individual with a criminal record can see expungement if he or she petitions the court. The court may expunge misdemeanors and petty misdemeanors convictions if the petitioner has…
Can law enforcement take your personal property, sell it, and keep the proceeds? Under current North Dakota law, if law enforcement believes the property was used in a crime, this is legal. Regardless of whether a person is convicted of the crime alleged, police can…
In State v. Ballard, 2016 ND 8, the defendant, Jeremy Ballard was on unsupervised probation as a result of pleading guilty to two misdemeanor drug crimes. A few months later, a deputy sheriff saw Ballard driving a vehicle with two passengers. The deputy knew Ballard…
Marsy’s Law is not a law at all, but is actually part of the North Dakota Constitution as of December 8, 2016. North Dakota’s voters approved a new constitutional amendment about victims’ rights called Marsy’s Law. Despite opposition from attorneys, state officials, and other groups,…
For many years the North Dakota State University Campus Police and the Fargo Police Department operated under a Memorandum of Understanding, which essentially granted NDSU Police to patrol and make arrests anywhere within the City of Fargo. Several universities and municipalities, including UND and the…
In North Dakota, drivers are required to carry a minimum amount of bodily injury liability coverage equal to $25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident, and $25,000 per accident for property damage. Why should you consider carrying more? When a crash is your fault and you only…
The sudden emergency doctrine is a doctrine of tort law in which a person who is confronted with a sudden unexpected situation not of his or her making and acts reasonably will not be held liable even if those actions result in a collision. The…